Blood Brothers
by Hypnosbutterfly
Summary: From adolescence to adulthood, from child to killer. One boys journey from the slums of Imperial City to the ranks of the Dark Brotherhood. A tale of brotherhood and treachery. -looking for a beta-
1. In The Beginning

Disclaimer - Bethesda owns The Elder Scrolls universe, but it's such an inviting sandbox to play in! Any characters you don't recognize are possibly mine and I'm perfectly willing to loan them out if anyone wants them.

Blood Brothers

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"For death begins with life's first breath And life begins at touch of death"  
-John Oxenham-

The sun rose over the walls of the Imperial City as Lucas Archer crouched at the edge of Lake Rumare. He settled back on his heels, the only position that didn't cause some part of his thin body to ache – although even this small movement caused bruises to twinge on his back and legs. He grimaced and swiped a grimy hand across his face. He wasn't crying, he just wasn't.

As the slums behind him began to settle into its early morning routine, he skimmed a pebble across the lake where it sank with an unsatisfying plunk and small splash of dirty water. Just beneath the surface a pair of slaughterfish darted towards the disturbance of their territory, then lazily drifted through the shallow water to warm their scales in the pale light of dawn.

A breeze whispered over the water and cooled his face, but it carried the stink of trash with it and he stood and turned his face towards the sun. Behind him, the slums were beginning to settle into their morning routine. Those with legitimate jobs, which contrary to what the of the citizens of the city proper might have thought were the majority of the residents of the waterfront, were going off to work. The citizens of the city looked down on the jobs they did, but without them the city couldn't function properly. Without the men and women who mucked out stables, cleaned the privies, and kept the sewers from clogging up with trash and leaves the city would stink of shit. These were just some of the jobs the slum dwellers were forced into to feed their families.

Of course the men and women who worked on the other side of the law were only now coming home from a night of the myriad ways someone could make their coin by their wits. Theft, extortion, the collection and selling of information could be lucrative, but even then the gold to be had was slim and sporadic – hence even they lived in the slums. And punishments were meted out by the guards with an uneven hand and swift brutality. Scowling he picked up a larger rock that rested by his foot and hurled it into the water, striking one of the carnivorous fish with a loud splash and small cloud of blood. The second slaughterfish quickly made a meal of its erstwhile companion. He spun on his heel, ignoring the pain in his back and began to walk home.

He slipped quietly into the dim shack and arranged the small pile of driftwood he had collected on the shore in the cold fireplace. He'd been supposed to bank it the night before, but he hadn't been here to do so. He pulled the flint from it's box by the grate and looked over his shoulder at the only bed in the room. He held his breath a moment, his heart leaping into his throat at the still form huddled under two thin ragged blankets. He let it out in a hiss as soon as he saw his mother, Sabine, move slightly and heard her soft breath that always seemed to rattle quietly in her chest these days. He scraped together the remnants of burned wood from the day before and eventually managed to get a spark he could coax into a flame. His brow furrowed as his mother woke coughing. It was a harsh wet sound now and she put a hand to her chest and gasped for some moments afterword trying to catch her breath. He grabbed a tin cup from table and filled it with water from the bucket he'd brought in before fetching wood.

She drank in small sips and than handed the empty cup back to him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him close, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a hand sized bruise. "Oh Luc what have you been doing?" She said tugging his sleeve back down and stroking his unkempt hair, "you didn't come home last night." she added quietly. She ran a hand over her own face and got out of bed, pulling her shoes on immediately to keep them off the cold stone floor. It was only the middle of Hearthfire and it had brought cold winds and even colder rains. The damp weather hadn't done anything to help the rot in her chest.

"You were stealing again, weren't you?" She asked, pulling the last of a sack of oats from the cabinet as he poured water from the bucket into the iron pot over the fire. He took the sack from her and added half of it to the pot. He ducked his head, dodging the question by pulling four copper septims out of his pocket and putting them in her hand...

"Sorry Ma," Lucas muttered as she pulled him into a hug, ignoring the twinge of pain from the bruises on his back. The septims weren't even what he'd gotten a beating for. A guardsmen had caught him filching an apple from a stall in the market and said he needed to be taught a lesson. He'd only wanted to bring the apple to his mother, they were her favorite and they would soon be gone from the market with such a lean harvest this year and a bad winter coming. Holden had been the one to arrest Lucas' father four years ago for robbery and murder and seemed to have made it his mission to 'keep that Archer brat on the straight and narrow'. This generally meant he followed Luc when he saw him anywhere other than the slums and gave him instructional cuffs to the head in passing any chance he got. It had been pure bad luck that Holden had been coming out of The Feed Bag at the very moment an apple had made into Luc's pocket. At least he hadn't found the coins or he'd have surely taken it in payment for his 'instruction.'

Sabine released him from the hug and then twisted his ear affectionately and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Reviews are nice, especially since I haven't written Fan-fiction in many years and I'd love to see if I've gotten any better since I was basically a kid!


	2. Much Talk

Disclaimer - Bethesda owns The Elder Scrolls universe, but it's such an inviting sandbox to play in! Any characters you don't recognize are possibly mine and I'm perfectly willing to loan them out if anyone wants them.

Blood Brothers Chapter II – Much Talk

"The rising morn cannot assure that we shall end the day, for Death stands ready at the door to take our lives away."

Lucas ducked behind a headstone as the wretched guardsman Holden sauntered along the road towards the market. If he saw him here he'd definitely give him a thrashing just for being _near_ the palace whether he could _prove_ some wrongdoing or not. And if he beat him he'd probably find the purse Luc had just acquired and then he'd really be in for it. A beating and a night or more in the gaol at least.

Holden stopped to chat with a pretty Altmer and Lucas used the opportunity of his adversary's turned back to slip into the nearby mausoleum. Now, most people would have avoided a place like a charnal house at all costs. Fear of the dead, fear of a curse from the dead, fear of rats maybe. But it was dry in here and rain was just beginning to patter down on the stone roof and the cold breeze wouldn't reach him inside. He didn't fear the dead, it was the living that were dangerous.

He'd hidden here before and knew other people did too. There was a lantern just inside the door, along with flint to light it and even a skin of oil to refill it. He'd never dare steal the lamp or the oil although both were somewhat valuable, because it no doubt belonged to someone who worked for the Grey Fox and the Fox never did anything to him and sometimes did a lot to make people's lives better who had nothing – which might benefit his mother some time.

He fumbled in the dark for a moment, finding the oiled leather pouch where the flint was kept and getting lantern lit. As soon as a flame flared to life he found himself thrown to forcefully to the ground, stars exploded in behind his eyes as his head slammed into the packed stone floor and a hand clamped over his mouth while a very sharp knife touched the skin of his throat. A man crouched on top of him, shrouded in a black hooded robe that obscured his face; the leather clad hand that kept him silent was very strong indeed and he cleverly dug his thumb into the soft spot beneath Luc's chin to prohibit him from opening his mouth to bite.

"I'm going to release you now," his soft voice murmured, "If you scream, I'll cut you throat." He said it rather civilly, cool as you please, and Luc knew he his life depended on his silence. Although he didn't feel any pain, he could feel a thin trickle of blood running down his neck into hair. The knife was so sharp he hadn't even felt it cut him, it wouldn't hurt until he moved. He blinked up at his captor, trying to look as meek as possible so that the man wouldn't decide to just kill him anyway. A long moment passed before the knife was removed from his throat and the hand from his mouth.

The man sat back on his heels and pulled a cloth from a pocket to clean the boy's blood from his knife. Lucas lay still for a moment, and the dark man pulled his hood back just enough to reveal a clean shaven Imperial face. He smiled sardonically at Luc and slowly slid the knife into a sheath along his left forearm.

Lucas pushed himself up and slid backwards until he could rest against the wall. The lamplight cast flickering shadows across the mausoleums cramped space, the stairs leading down below were cast in darkness and looked like an ominous pit to him now. If the man wanted to kill him and throw his body to the bottom who would know? Certainly no one had been buried here in all the time he had been using it as a hideout, how long would it take for someone to find his body? Who would take care of his mother if he was dead?

His eyes narrowed and he glared at the man, which only made him chuckle softly. His hand came towards Lucas as quick as a striking snake and he ruffled his hair with something like amusement on his pale face.

"So child, whatever might you be doing in a place like this?" He asked, gesturing with a hand to the stone walls around him. There were brass plaques on the walls covered with dust and a few husks of old flowers on a table in the corner. There was also a bedroll laid out along with a leather pack and a much used bow and quiver against the wall.

Luc just scowled at the man, who raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin. It reminded Lucas of the wound that suddenly begun to sting when he thought about it and he remembered that he was talking to someone who could have killed him already. It would do him no good to be defiant.

He shrugged, "Same's you I guess," he offered "hidin' out." He figeted then, touching his fingertips to the wound on his throat. The man leaned forward again, gripping his chin in his hand gently this time and proceeded to clean the cut with a clean handkerchief and then wrapping it around his neck and tying it loosely. "I didn't realized I had injured you," he said in his quiet voice. He sounded contrite. "I thought you were someone else you see." He stayed kneeling in front of Luc, his eyes level with the young man's. In the lamplight his pale eyes stood out in stark contrast to the dark circles beneath them.

"Quiet little thing aren't you?" he smiled, not unkindly "When I was a child I was much the same, my brother never stopped talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise and keeping quiet became a habit."

"I don't have no brothers, s'just me and Ma," Luc said contemplatively, "Don't have many friends neither so's I'm not much fer conversations."

"So tell me, why would a child hide here among the dead?" He grinned, "I'll obviously not be turning you in to the guards."

Luc feigned indifference and tried to copy the man's cool demeanor as he replied "A mun was careless

'nough to bump into me and dropped 'is purse in me pocket."

"Ah I see, that was quite irresponsible of him then." he nodded, "aren't you afraid of ghosts then?" he added, sliding his eyes towards the stairs leading to the crypts with a wry twist of his lips.

"Nah," he said honestly, "I figure I'd worry more 'bout the guards than some spooks, ain't never bothered me 'afore now anyway." He paused, "I'd kinda hoped some'un from theives guild might be here, could trade me any silver or gold I got into coppers. I get caught wi' more'n coppers they nab me whether they could prove I stoled it or not."

"That's quite clever of you, most boys your age might not think of that with such a windfall." The man stood then and retrieved a pouch from his pack. He placed the pouch between them and sat down, pulling the lantern closer. "I'll trade you properly for any coins you can't use if you like,"

Lucas thought about this for a moment. This might be the strangest situation he's ever been in. Moments ago this man had threatened his life, then tended the wounds he had caused and chatted amiably with him and now he was offering to do him a very large favor. He inched back a bit, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Why you wanna help me, whatcha want from me for doing sumpthin for me?" he asked suspiciously. There was any number of things the man could want, few of them pleasant.

The man shrugged slightly, "Nothing at all. I really don't want to have to kill you, but I don't want you telling anyone you saw me in here either. Think of it as due payment for keeping your mouth shut." He grinned, a mere baring of teeth. "You're a nice quite sort of lad in any case and I'm sure I can count on your discretion, yes?"

Lucas chewed his lip in agitation for a moment before holding out his hand thoughtfully, "Shake on't?"

The man gravely took his hand and they shook twice to seal the bargain before Lucas pulled the pouch he'd stolen from inside his tunic where it had been a rather noticable bulge. There was indeed four silver septims and two whole gold ones in the purse. He tried to hide his elation at such good luck his mother would be annoyed with him but she would get over it eventually since it meant they could eat for weeks, maybe a couple of months with that kind of money. After they had exchanged the coins, the dark man showed him how to take a cloth and roll the money into a flat band that could be hidden in his waistband so that it didn't show or make any noise.

They remained quietly in one anothers company for a little more time as the rain began to taper off. "Well," The man said, with another amused ruffle of Lucas' dirty hair, "You'd best run on now before your mother misses you." he tweaked the boys nose and softly added "And remember our bargain now." He watched as the youth slipped out the door, checking furtively for watchers before disappearing in the evening gloom.

Thanatos stared at the closed door for a moment more before extinguishing the lantern. No reason to waste the oil when he could just as easily cast a night-eye spell. He didn't bother however, merely walked to his bedroll in the darkness and removed his cloak. He rolled it up to use as a pillow and tried to calm his frayed nerves. He'd very nearly slit the boy's throat, many of his comrades would have killed the child left his body to cool in the mausoleum without a thought and gone about their business. He closed his eyes and tried to get some rest. With any luck they shouldn't find his target's body for a while yet, the old Dunmer had been a recluse and was known to only leave his house a few times in a month. Still, he intended to take the long way home and it would be a long walk to Cheydenhall...

-To be continued...


End file.
